The Square Root of Summer // I Math Ask You To Explain Yourself

The Square Root of Summer was beautiful but…CONFUSING. Which makes it very hard to review, ergo you should sit here in FULL ADMIRATION of my attempts right now. Thankyou.

It’s just that it was very extremely mathy. All wormholes and physics … and you know who basically failed maths in highschool? THAT WOULD BE ME. #awkward But on the other hand — IT HAD CAKE BAKING AND GERMAN CHARACTERS so I was doomed to enjoy most of it.

L I K E S

The aesthetics were VERY pleasing. It was really visual and it swallowed me with all the sensory writing! I could see the old house and the untamed garden and apple trees and the lazy summery days. SUPER BEAUTIFUL, RIGHT?! I haven’t been sucked in to a story like this in a loooong time.

GERMAN STUFF. It’s set in England, but the characters! are! German! AND THAT IS COOL TO ME. Lots of German food and phrases. (Also I wrote a German-influenced book this one time so #research)

The characters were complex and SQUISHABLE. Aka — I liked them.

MARGOT:(who goes by “Grottie”??? Um, I think she needs to rethink that life choice) who is super into MATHS. Which, while I doooon’t understand her in this — yay, go Margot and your math stuff! Plus she’s still kind of vague and dreamy…which I so adore.

NED: who seemed like a bit of a loser (constantly drunk band member cliche??) but was kinda sweet.

THOMAS: Margot’s childhood BFF who disappeared BUT IS NOW BACK. He bakes cakes. #aminlove Also he’s all nerdy and hispter and wears glasses.

Also full disclosure: I love the name Thomas. It is my name-crush. (That’s a THING.) So Thomas and I were destined to get along.

DID I MENTION THERE IS BAKING YET?!? It’s not like the entire story but it’s so well described I accidentally ate several chapters. Cakeeeeeeeee.

Also there was a bookstore. I’m so much a fan of bookstores, obviously, so this spoke to my soul.

D I S L I K E S

Um, so it was gargantuanly confusing. Like the ending totally LOST ME. You could threaten to throw me off Jupiter with no snacks and I would still not be able to explain the ending. And every time it dissolved into pages of wormhole, time-travel, and psychics explanations I just….OH LOOK. MY BRAIN IS EXPLODED AND SPLATTERED ON THE CARPET OVER YONDER.

Despite liking the aesthetics of the summery sugary gardeny summer…it really wasn’t very exciting. I didn’t feel ANY sort of urgency to the story at all. I mean it was nice? Relaxing? But I didn’t feel invested and there were no high-stakes whatsoever.

Also it heavily features a past-grandpa’s-death. Which is fine, of course, but I as the reader never knew the grandpa. So while I watched the family grieve, I didn’t feel anything for it much. He was just a name. But I am also a coldhearted melon. So there’s that.

Sometimes the writing felt disjointed. Like I honestly stared at a few pages and just went “HUH”…and felt vaguely like I was being thrown off Jupiter again.

MATH STUFF = CAIT CONFUSED.Did I mention that??? Eh, it bears repeating AGAIN. Plus the wormhole aspect honestly just seemed like a plot-device to give flashbacks. Which is fine. But why the drama around wormholes then? And they weren’t even URGENT or EXCITING backflashes, so they honestly were my least favourite part of the story. Couldn’t they have used the wormholes to go find SPOCK OR SOMETHING??? #priorities

Also it bears mentioning that it took a BOY to get Margot to live life to the full again.Hmph.

I think it’s a summery and visually delicious story; but a little too confusingly executed. My non-mathed brain is still combusted, btw. Thanks for asking after it. And I still have NO idea about the ending.

But I do know I want cake made by Thomas and I also want to be German or live in an apple tree. Idek which. All of them, maybe. Right now.

THANK YOU TO PAN MACMILLAN FOR THE REVIEW COPY. The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood was published 26th April, 2016.

This is what it means to love someone. This is what it means to grieve someone. It’s a little bit like a black hole. It’s a little bit like infinity.
Gottie H. Oppenheimer is losing time. Literally. When the fabric of the universe around her seaside town begins to fray, she’s hurtled through wormholes to her past:
To last summer, when her grandfather Grey died. To the afternoon she fell in love with Jason, who wouldn’t even hold her hand at the funeral. To the day her best friend Thomas moved away and left her behind with a scar on her hand and a black hole in her memory.
Although Grey is still gone, Jason and Thomas are back, and Gottie’s past, present, and future are about to collide—and someone’s heart is about to be broken.

hello, Spocklings. anyone here good at maths? RAISE THINE HAND. and do you like it when books are visually delicious and summery?? what was the last aesthetically pleasing book you read? AND OH HAVE YOU READ THIS ONE AND WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Comments

Agh okay I have to admit I had no plans to read this (failed math just like you), but the German bit got me. As the pesky German I am I love to tear apart books by non-Germans for inaccuracy. MUhahahahah, if I’ll see it in the wild, getting this!

*hi five for math failures* WE FAILURES MUST STICK TOGETHER, AVAST. We can’t number but at least we can cake. *nods* Omg, that’s kind of hilarious though. 😂 I would of course have no idea if it was German-ishly accurate. Although I believe, from what I’ve read on the author’s website, that she is actually German but living in London?

I haven’t read this book (and I don’t think I plan to?) because I’M TERRIBLE AT MATHS.
I love visually delicious books but I don’t think just knowing it’s aesthetically appealing could make me read it.

This book has been doing rounds on social media. I was completely bowled over by the use of Summer in the title. However Iso wouldnt like a mathematics book!! I wonder how I paid attention only to summer and not to ‘square root’ in the title!!Resh Susan recently posted…Book Review: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

I too am horrific at maths and science, but even so, I really liked this book! I have to admit I was confused a lot of the time when Grottie would talk about different theories and trying to work out how the wormholes were possible, but it was a kind of confused I’m used to; as a fan of Doctor Who and all his wibbly-wobbly-timey-whimey stuff, and a fan of The Big Bang Theory, where they’re always talking physics, I’m used to not understanding what’s going on in the maths and science department, but I don’t think it’s necessary to enjoy those programmes, or this book. I actually met Harriet Reuter Hapgood at an event, and talked to her about the maths and sciencey part, and she also said that it’s not necessary to understand all the ins and outs to get the story. Despite not understanding most of that kind of stuff, I LOVED that it was there! It was so interesting! In the sense that I was thinking, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I am excited, PLEASE GIVE ME MORE!” I loved it! It really spoke to the part of me that loved David-Tennant-as-Doctor Doctor Who series. I looooved it.

I can’t remember how the book ended in relation to all the time and stuff… but I knew that at the time, everything clicked into place for me. I understood what was happening and why, and finishing thinking that Reuter Hapgood is just so clever, and a little bit in awe of her. I can’t explain further, since I read this book in October/November last year, and my memory isn’t that great, but I remember thinking the ending was awesome.

Oooh, I love books where you can see everything! Though the thing I remember most, visually, about this book is Grottie’s granddad. I can just really see him. I actually really loved him, and wished there was more of him! He was just great, and I was sad there weren’t more wormhole flashbacks. Aww, Grey! 🙁

BUT, on the topic of awesome visuals and stuff, THE NIGHT CIRCUS BY ERIN MORGENSTERN! I know we’ve talked about it in your comments before, but I had to tell you again. This book is just gorgeous! Ooooh, how I love it! 😀

I always assume really mathematically talented authors are just waaaaay smarter then me. 😂 I didn’t get it but YEAH! That’s definitely not to say the book was wrong or anything. *nods* And I also have read, like, only 2 books with time travel? So I’m definitely not experienced in that area. 😛 (I don’t know if you follow Xmen, but their last movie was all flipping-back-and-forth in time and I GOT SO CONFUSED AND HATED IT. 😂)

That is so so cool you got to meet her!! 😀 AHHHHHH.

And omg the visuals were so delicious…I totally wanted to steal into Grottie’s house and live there. <3

YES I STILL NEED TO READ THE NIGHT CIRCUS. I promise it's on my (eternally endless) TBR. heeh.

I really was looking forward to this book and now hearing that it has a boy baking cake. I mean IT’S CAKE, I’m doomed to fall in love with it. And with the boy too.
BUT the fact that it took a boy to make grottie (yeah she definitely should think about fixing that) to live life to the fullest has me like “meeeh”

It was definitely confusing, but I still want more science and maths in YA because there is definitely not enough (although science and maths that doesn’t give me a headache, please and thank you). But I loved the German-ness!! AND YOUR PHOTOS OF COURSE. Greeeeen <3 <3

AGREED. I wonder if there’s not much out there because we bookworms tend to be more English focused??? BUT STILL. YAY MATH REPRESENTATION. (Even though I died reading it. 😂) Aww, thankyou about the photos! I was actually feeling totally uninspired. I WANTED TO TAKE A GRASSY PHOTO, because obviously. But my grass is all dead. Curse you, eternal Australian summer. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING WINTER.

Oooooooo! I now totally want to read this book because time travel where the science is actually explained + me =😍. I love math, and I think it is great when a book includes mathematical and scientific explanations. But does it talk about math or science? Or both? Because you mentioned physics, so I’m not sure.
Was it a good story besides the math/science? I know you mentioned it didn’t seem to have any urgency, but will it keep you reading?
Great post!

AHHH GOOD LUCK WITH THIS THEN, ELLIE. 😂 I shall leave you math geniuses to the wormholes and psychics and I shall crawl into a cake and live there forever. It definitely talks about the math behind wormholes…I’m not 100% sure about the science because I read it a few weeks back and forget. 😂 And YES. Like apart from me-not-understanding-the-wormhole-aspect…it was a super good book. I LOVED the summery lazy feeling. <3 It kept me reading?! ;D

I’m reading this book now! 🙂
I’m NOT a maths nerd but I love physics! The wormholes and stuff are really interesting and I don’t mind them (it makes me extra curious actually, yay for science!)
The one problem I have from what I’ve read is that Margot is so hard to understand. It’s hard to connect with her, it’s like she is a contracting bundle of emotions and thoughts! I’m more confused by her than the sciencey stuff.
Nice review, btw! 😀Alexandra recently posted…Mini reviews! / The Young Elites and The Rose Society

And I do agree Margot was hard to understand...like the mathy side kind of conflicts with the whimsical dreamy side a bit?? Which is odd. :O And whole thing of her being mad at Thomas for not writing but then SHE didn't write???? Like wut even is going on there...

Oh my God, I suck at maths. I mean, I passed it, but I still suck at it.
I’m vaguely amused by the fact that you say that this book contains psychic powers and time travel (so it’s sci-fi?) but the blurb makes it sound totally contemporary. 😉
I like the names Morgan and Leon for boys. Do not ask me why. I just do. I also like Tobias. Blame Animorphs for that one.Rain @ Ivyclad Ideas recently posted…‘H’ is for Horror

BUT AT LEAST YOU PASSED. 😂 I mean, I homeschooled, so we kind of switched to “business maths” so I wouldn’t fail altogether, but yeah, no. I sucked. 😂
I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT GENRE TO CLASSIFY IT AS. Gahhhh. It should be magical realism I think? But I’m calling it contemporary because it READ as a contemporary *nods*
(Leon is an amazing name. AND TOBIAS IS AN AWESOME NAME TOO…although Divergent kind of makes me feel differently about it now. 😂 I like “Toby”. SO CUTE.)

So I have to say that you had me with all the descriptive-y things…yes, I like to dream of being in an overgrown garden with apple trees on a warm summer day, the smell of apples wafting in the breeze. But you lost me at wormholes. *ha* This certainly sounds like a unique story, Cait. And I’m wondering if someone, say my older daughter or my son, would enjoy it since they are both more math-y and frequently discuss physics and wormholes and such. (wherein my eyes glaze over) I’m glad you gave it a go despite the fact that it made your brain combust (hopefully it’s recovered) and I do appreciate all your effort in relaying such a lovely review. 😀

Wouldn’t it just be divine?! *dreams of the apple orchards* Ahhhhh. SO PRETTY. Ahem. But yes….one does need to appreciate the mathy side to fully enjoy the book I think. 😂 Although I don’t regret reading it at all?!? Like, sans the math part, I did like it! (Omg smart kids you have! My eyes would glaze over too. 😂)

Hi, Cait! I’ve only just started following your blog, so I haven’t commented before . . . but I thought now was a good time to start 🙂

Am I good at maths? Ummmmmmmmmm . . . yes . . . but I don’t really LIKE them very much. That is, I do find math rather fascinating at times (especially algebra) but in a dry-and-boring sort of way. Give me history or English every time, peoples. Lots more food for thought.

(Although I do love physics. Like, I REALLY love it. So I can’t claim to be ONLY a humanities nerd. I do like some science-y stuff.)

Last aesthetically-pleasing-book I read . . . Well, I reread “Shadows on the Rock” by Willa Cather earlier this spring (which also happens to be my favorite novel ever) and the scenery + descriptions are AWESOME. Part of the reason why it’s my favorite 🙂 Good description in books makes me ridiculously happy. I just want to be able to SEE everything, you know what I mean?

Also, that’s awesome that you’re actually good at maths. YOU SMART BEAN, YOU. 😂 History is my favourite! I LOVE the stories there and the potential for writing other versions, hehe. (Even though I’m a writer, I’m surprisingly not great at English. 😂 Ahem)

Ooh this makes me curious about Shadows on the Rock! I hadn’t heard of it before now, but epic scenery descriptions?! *dashes off to google it*

You love the name Thomas? YOU DON’T SAY? Personally, I always thought you were kind of ambivalent about it. (ESPECIALLY GIVEN *COUGH* SOME THINGS THAT NEED TO BE SWIFTLY ALTERED IN *COUGH* SOMEONE’S STORY.)

Anyway. Moving on. Can I just say how much I love that lately in contemporaries there have been tons of guy chefs and guy cooks and guys-who-cook-for-fun? And not a mid-50s-bald-Italian-mustached-chef-with-a-bad-attitude cliche, but actual young men who are falling-in-love-able who do it? So FINALLY we’re dispensing with the notion that cooking = a “female thing” and ALSO with the notion that guys can only do it if they’re Italian and scream a lot. As someone who has lots of guy friends who are interested in cooking, I just think this is an enormous service to both genders, and YAS. (Also, it’s an enormous service to the readers, because FOOD PORN.)

Math and I have a funny relationship… in that I’ve spent my whole life avoiding it in favor of the arts and linguistics, but I’m actually good at it? I think because my parents are both mathematicians, in a sense, so I had to be? Idk. So the notion of math is NEVER appealing to me, but I tend not to get confused by it, so NOW you have me intrigued about where I fall on this spectrum.

And GAH, FINALLY AN OPINION I TRUST REVIEWING THIS BOOK. Emery Lord and I have ‘met’ once before, in book form, to… halfhearted results. So I NEEDED A CAIT-OPINION ON THIS before I would commit to it. AND HEEEEEERE IT IS! REJOICE, ALL!Lexie @ The Honest Bookclub recently posted…BOOK REVIEW: A COURT OF MIST AND FURY BY SARAH J. MAAS

I KNOW. ISN’T IT A SHOCK!? It’s so hard to tell with me, especially after Dead Boy. (Pfffft. YOU LOVE THAT ENDING. I SEE IT IN YOUR EYES.)

And omg YES. I thoroughly appreciate the trend of boys-in-the-kitchen. It makes my heart beat faster, honestly. It’s basically the only way to get me crushing on book character. IT ALL STARTED WITH DEAR BAKER PEETA. <3 I want a Peeta. Or a Thomas. This cooking one, not my ghost one. (And basically any book with food becomes an instantly better book. This is science.)

DUDE. YOU'RE LUCKY TO BE GOOD AT MATHS. My dad is an engineer nad adores math and he had 6 kids ALL OF WHO BASICALLY HATE/FAIL MATHS. It's irony, bascially. Ahem.

*flails in rejoicing with you* YOU ARE WELCOME. Although I didn't even know she'd written other books?! I'm not sure if I'd dash out after them or not. 😂

I’ll admit it: I suck at math. Like, I can’t stand math. *shudders* However, this book sounds fantastic!!!!!!! I MUST READ IT AND ENJOY IT. ahem.
I LOVE IT WHEN BOOKS ARE VISUALLY DELICIOUS. IT MAKES MY LITTLE BOOKISH HEART INSANLY HAPPY.
*thinks* The last aesthetically pleasing book I read was probably The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman. IT WAS SO GOOD.Mironiel Blokzyl recently posted…The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman Book Review | CALLING ALL SHADOWHUNTER FANS

Maybe it is pronounced with the “got” in Germany? (I think the author is actually german descended…) And worse it was “grottie”…so like, THAT’S JUST SO WRONG. 😂
Ugh, maths. I just…I JUST CANNOT WITH IT. I suppose it comes in handy with cooking sometimes thougH??? I know how to double a recipe. #priorities

Ah, the cliche of girl needs boy to live life to the fullest. Pretty much why I’ve stopped reading contemporaries. Girls are perfectly capable of ruling the world on their own. I don’t think I’ll be reading this one.

I’m good at math, I’m not the best but I am living through High School with A’s and B’s. My dad is good at math and that is probably where I get it from. I love it when books are visually delicious, I don’t have a preference for season though. The last pleasing book I read, well I’m almost done with it (I just want to talk about it though because of it’s epic awesomeness). Down with the Shine by Kate Karyus Quinn. I love it (*me spinning in circle*)!!!!!!! Have you heard of it?! I was unsure of it before I started, but I love it now. It is about a girl brings wish granting moonshine to a party, and grants a whole bunch of wishes. The next morning stuff happens and you have to read it. The characters also have sassy humor (I know how you love sassy characters, don’t we all). I recommend it, it is awesome.

WELL. YOU HAVE MY ADMIRATION IN FULL THEN. 😂 My dad is an engineer and basically lives and breathes maths and he’s DEVASTATED that he had 6 kid sand we all failed badly at maths. 😂 (We’re all more arty.) Ahem. BUT YEAH. Omg, any aesthetically pleasing book, no matter the season, is wonderful to me. <3 I adored Shiver for this reason. It just FELT so wintery and chocolately and delicious. :')

Omg I'd vaguely heard of Down with the Shine and NOW I WANT TO READ IT!! BECAUSE SASSY HUMOUR IS LIFE.

Yup, this book was cute, but confused THE LIFE OUT OF ME. The physics just baffled me and I finished it feeling so confused. It needed dumbing down, explaining in laymen’s terms because even Sheldon Cooper would struggle to understand it. (Okay maybe not because he’s AWESOME)

It was so gorgeously written, though, it just devastated me that I didn’t “get” it.

This sounds really interesting!! Thank you for another lovely review, Cait! ^-^
I’m okay-ish at math, I guess??? I do fairly well at it but I don’t enjoy it really. I like, and tend to do best, with specific rules/formulas. All that other math stuff (like geometry ugh) just aggravates me, though. xD
ALL THE GERMAN AND BAKING STUFF SOUNDS FANTASTIC. and i love when there’s bookish things WITHIN books. like in the lux series how katy is a book blogger, or how inkheart is basically a book all about books. there’s just something so great to me about books that concern books.
xx aAdaline recently posted…|| HAMILTON BOOK TAG ||

All maths = my brain explodes. Except cooking maths. I can handle that because #priorities

And omg YES books in books are the BEST. And you can’t go wrong right?! Because bookworms are going to be reading, ergo we’ll adore when there are bookstores mentioned. 😂 AND YES INKHEART JUST WINS FOR BOOKISH APPRECIATION. *shrieks*

Judging by your review, I’m not sure I would have liked this book.. As much as I love German food, I don’t think I’d enjoy feeling stupid and confused over the math and physics.. and I don’t think I’d enjoy being bored either XD Awesome review, as always!

I’m actually a physics major so I’m *really super interested* in this one. It’ll be interesting from a math and science background to see if Hapgood got stuff right. But math/science aside, it sounds beautiful and the cover is gorgeous! Thanks for the awesome review!

Ha, I am allergic to math. My brain just cannot handle numbers, I even have difficulties counting (or is it calculating?) the changes whenever I go shopping. So, I can relate with you, Cait. I don’t know, I don’t feel like reading this book, the title itself already confuses me, well, maybe later.

I love it when book looks delicious and summery. This is also the reason why I love Sarah Addison Allen’s books. Many of her books are about magic food from a magic garden, me likey!

The last aesthetically pleasing book I read has to be A Court of Mist and Fury – The Summer and Night court were visually beautiful. If you are confused about the maths I can only imagine me. I’ve had it happen to me where I’ve completely skipped over parts of a book after I stared at it for too long and I just don’t know anymore. Thomas sounds definitely like a cutie. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that name too! I was seriously considering naming my future child Thomas for a while. My mom did not agree with me… And he bakes… A guy who bakes is someone I need in my life – in my real life. A boy saves the day though so… maybe I’ll read it one day.

Eeep, I did kind of just stare at the math stuff and go “wut” and then move slowly on because omg I was just NOT going to compute there. 😂 OH BUT YAY FOR MUTUAL THOMAS-NAME-LOVE. <3 I would name my future goldfish Thomas, probably. #priorities

I saw this book and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it … BUT OH MY GOODNESS, NOW I WANT TO. I LOVE math and physics! *puffs out chest* I actually want to major in one of those for college. #weirdsociallyawkwardnerd

That aesthetic sounds gorgeous! And this book has such a cool title…..I find wormholes and stuff really interesting, but I tend not to like contemporary romances, so I think I’ll pass on this one.
ALSO A++++++ FOR USES OF STAR TREK GIFS.

Also I would never throw you off Jupiter without food.
I would totally give you cake before I threw you off. *nods* (And then, ya know, it would have to be for a good reason like accidentally bending the corner of a page… Because I’m reasonable like that.)

Also a name-crush is totally a thing. Mine is Duncan. I JUST LOVE DUNCAN HE IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL NAME AND I WILL LOVE HIM FOREVER. I’m normal I swear. XD (I can’t think of any characters named Duncan just now buuut I named one of my favorite characters that so I’m obviously taking care of this. *nods*)

OKAY. I’M GONNA STAND WITH YOU THEN. *dashes over to share mathless cake with you* (Okay but wait, I guess one uses basic maths to MAKE cake but shhh let’s not think about that.) I’m also grateful you won’t throw me off Jupiter without food. YOU ARE A TRUE FRIEND. <333

AHHHH I'm kind of glad you have name crushes too!! 😂 *hi fives* It's the best, right?! It's almost sad to use the name on a character because then you can't use it again. BAHAH. Ahem. (I read a book with a Duncan in it once! Did you ever read Little House on the Prairie? It was like series about her great-grandmother? Totally had a Duncan. *nods*)

I was only good at Algebra, but I looove Quantum Physics and Q-Mechanics, so bring on the wormholes, black holes, and quasars! I once sat for 18 hours straight and devoured a textbook about black holes. I still don’t think I would like this book though. I hate even a hint of disjointedness in writing, and I cannot tolerate chunks of a story being handed over to dead people I know hardly anything about. I don’t know whether I read The Thirteenth Tale or The Raven Boys last, but which ever one came last that would be my choice for aesthetically pleasing book. 🙂

Thank you SO MUCH for this review! I added this book on my TBR because, despite maths which I am having trouble with just like you, I really liked the synopsis, and the whole idea behind this story. plus, the writing sounded fantastic from what I’ve heard, and that cover just looks GORGEOUS RIGHT? I’m a bit sad that it was such a confusing book for you, but if anything, it makes me more and more curious about it. But yeah, I wouldn’t go by Grottie if my name was Margo in the first place, this is so weird, ahah. Thank you for this great review!! 😀Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books recently posted…Souvenirs from across the world…COMING BACK!

Math’s torturing me the same way. I am in college now and trying to find study loads that are math-free ( or at least only give me one math-related subject to lament for the whole semester). The only thing that is peeking my interest for this book is the CAKE!!

I had the exact same issues. It was lovely as a contemporary but what on earth was all the physics and mathematical elements thrown in there? I just didn’t get it. And the grandfather! It’s so hard to invest in a character that has such a big influence.throughout the storyline that readers only see through second hand stories. I couldn’t finish it. It honestly started to do my head in. I think this is the first time I’ve actually completely agreed with a review. Complete.

I’ll just wait here for my cake. Great review smushster, I think this is one of your best <3Kelly recently posted…The Unexpected Everything

Omg I’m SO GLAD you felt the same about the grandfather. I was a bit worried I was possibly just a heartless Vulcan here. (Oh wait. I still totally am. AHem.) But YEAH. I mean, I just didn’t SEE it?? I like to be invested in a character before they’re all just lying around dead.

Huh. Part of me really wants to read this, BUT I AM TERRIBLE AT MATH SO IT WOULD PROBABLY MAKE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. *sigh* That reminds me that I should do geometry. I really do not want to do geometry.

Before I talk books, I just need to say: THE PHOTOS ON THIS POST ARE STUNNING!!!! Gah, your photos are always so amazing.

I treid reading this book… TWICE. And I gave up… TWICE! I just couldn’t get into it at all. There was no urgency to the story, just as you said. And all the maths and wormhole/timetravel stuff was just confusing the crap out of me. I got further in on the second read but gave up once I realised I really didn’t care about the story, the characters or what was going to happen. I’m glad I gave up if the ending was super frustrating, that would bug the crap out of me.

AHHH THANK YOU CHARNELL!!😂 I actually was feeling totally uninspired for this photo shoot (I mean, I wanted to take pictures with GRASS because reasons; but the grass is all dead here…thanks summer) and so i’m like “Omg, I know: EVERYTHING GREEN.” 😂😂 Ahem.

But I totally understand ditching it. *nods* I mean, I think I ultimately liked it?? but more in retrospect. At the time I was miffed a lot. 😛 And the ending??? I still have no idea what in the even.

Ahh. I’m so one the fence right now. 😐 What do you think I’d think of this one? I can’t decide whether or not to read it.

I love books with time travel and alternate universes, so I was really excited for this one. (Speaking of which, you still need to read All Our Yesterdays – not just one of my favorite time travel books, but just one of my all-time favorite books in general). But all the math makes me a bit nervous. I mean, I love that the book isn’t afraid to include math and doesn’t dumb down the readers, but on the other hand I’d probably be lost too. Just out of curiosity: how hard is the math? If it’s algebra or geometry, I can probably handle it. But anything after that and my brain is lost.

I ACTUALLY HAVE NO IDEA. AHHH. 😂 Do you like magical-realism elements?? and omg YES I need to read All Our Yesterdays….I’m actually kind of ashamed of the fact that I STILL HAVEN’T OMG. I need to put it on the to-buy list since my library doesn’t have it. 😛

And I’d love to tell you how hard the math is but I HAVE NO IDEA.😂 It’s more like physics and theories things that went — wheest — over my head. *sighs*

This actually sounds…interesting. (Does that mean I’m becoming one of those people who actually like math??) But cake and visuals and it sounds cool. And the time travel doesn’t sound too confusing (or maybe you just made it simpler for the review?) since you said it was flashbacks.

Okay, so I don’t know that I’ll read this book because it doesn’t sound all that great, but I WILL sit here and STARE at your pictures for the next ten minutes or so because they are (as always) utterly gorgeous!

Hey, I saw Square Root Of Summer the other day in Waterstones and was so tempted by it but it seemed to be a bit young. In terms of young adult how YOUNG did you think it was? The grief story line I thought would be interesting but if you say we never knew the author I am now doubting if I will like this book. Did you empathise with Margot enough? Should I read this? HELP!

Oh no, CAIT! You are destroying me right now with your review! I had such high expectations for this book and was about to read it next. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS to me? Though I have no real clue about maths I love if physics are being explained during the stories … but according to your review there’s not a lot happing and there is NOTHING I adore more than faced-paced adventures … So… WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO READ now? Any recommendations (sits crying on the couch waiting for an epiphany … )
Cheers from (finally) sunny GERMANY 😉
Kati

This is a book I was only vaguely interested in reading until I got a free excerpt in a book box. That little snippet of the book drew me in and got me thinking and now I really want a copy. Mathe doesn’t intimidate me (I used to be good at it, I have an A-Level in it and everything which proves it) but I do worry I’ll get confused and not like it. I have mixed feelings about it which your review both makes me feel good about but wary about buying. I should probably just borrow it from the library.

One thing I do have to say our review has gotten me excited about is the german-ness in this book. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book which features anything like that without it being set in Germany and it normally ends up being world war related, I’d love to read that. I mean, I know nothing about Germany or German food or anything (although I do have a GCSE in the language) so that sounds cool. I want to read for that.

Ohhh you little math GENIUS then. I mean, confusing moments aside, A-Level is AWESOME. *cheers for you* Ahem. But library sounds like a good idea *nods* I like librarying all the dubious books tbh. It’s safer.😂

AND YES IKR?!?! I think it’s awesome when books are about other countries and I have a teeny tiny (aka HUGE) interest in Germany, so this was awesome for me. Plus I believe the author has german roots !!!

This sounds interesting even though, it does sound kind of slow. But Thomas sounds cool. I think I might give it a try, at least a try. But I’m not particularly good at math. I can do math, buuuut, that’s only because I was homeschooled and gifted with a very patient mom who LOVED math. (Where do math lovers come from?) Serioulsy, I give her credit for all my math skills.

Math lovers are strange creatures and probably not to be trusted honestly. My dad is an engineer and LOVES maths. He had 6 children to share his love of maths with AND WE’RE ALL TERRIBLE AT IT AND ARTY INSTEAD. #fail 😂

I would like to say this review wins at all things because of the use of Star Trek gifs. Nods. Nimoy is <3

Now, that's out of the way — I agree, this is confusing. The physics, diagrams and theorems could've have been done better, I felt for the family mourning Grey, I thought the author pulled off the emotional investment in him well for me.

OMG, I feel this soooooo much. This book was so beautiful, but I was so confused. I DIDN’T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END! Ugh, and that’s super frustrating cause I thought I would like the book a lot 🙁 Anyway, love your review–and the photos, oh my goodness. They are absolutely gorgeous!!! 😀